One of presentations at Centre for Architecture and the Visual Arts, Liverpool University, with discussion by Saskia Sassen, John Belchem and Ou Ning, Chair by Felipe Hernandez.The conference Magical Mysterious Regeneration Tour:Art, Artists and the Future of the City was organized by Tate Liverpool, in collaboration with the Centre for Architecture and the Visual Arts (CAVA), the Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool and Cecilia Andersson Werk Ltd.

1. Poverty and Politics A Case Study of Da Zha Lan, Beijing Ou Ning June 12-14, 2008 Tate Liverpool and Liverpool University

2. Beijing, National Stadium, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, 2007

3. Villages, corners and slums in Beijing(total:343) Da Zha Lan area and Tian’an Men Square

5. Langfang Ertiao The typical layout of diagonal streets in Da Zha Lan area was formed naturally as people traveled in between the new and old capitals after the Middle Capital of Jin was destroyed and the Main Capital of Yuan(1271-1368 AD) was rebuilt. Unlike the neat and orderly design of hutong s in the Inner city, Da Zha Lan has a freely developed grassroots style suitable for the outer part of the city and bears witnesses to the long history of this area.

6. From Ming Dynasty all through Qing Dynasty, to Republican Era, to Post-Liberation, the area of Da Zha Lan has always been the commercial center of Beijing, where a great number of established shops and brands have existed for hundreds of years. It has experienced the transitions from Chinese handicraft industry, to capitalist free trade, to socialist market economy, and can be deemed as the paradigm for Chinese commercial culture.

7. Da Zha Lan Street now become a low-end retail street filled up with cheap goods and fakes.

8. Hutongs, small alleys representing the life style of old Beijing, though mostly destroyed, still widely exist in Da Zha Lan area.

9. Most of the houses were built at end of Qing Dynasty or in the Repulican Era. Due to lack of amendment, they are in bad conditions. Not better inside, either. And wood structure makes these houses easy to catch fire.

10. There are lot of hostels which charge by bed instead of by room to make it more affordable. In this one, a bed per night costs only RMB 20(about 3 USD) Temporary housing widely exists in Da Zha Lan area. This one is revised from a truck.

11. Quite a few people just live on streets. This is a home of a rickshaw driver. Home of a migrant worker.

12. Empty Nest families. Young people don’t want to stay while old people can’t afford to leave, making Da Zha Lan area an aging society.

13. Life is poor for them in many ways. One is they have few job opportunities so that they have to do small businesses like selling incense or fruit for living.

14. Or work as bicycle repairmen.

15. Rubbish collectors and beggars are common to see also.

16. Miss hair-salon. It’s an open secret that they work as prostitutes in fact. To spend a night with them costs only RMB150(about 20 USD).

17. Love Island Bar, a heaven for fat gay people (called bears in gay community) in South Beijing, a relatively poorer area in the city.

18. Area : 1.26 square kilometers Hutong (narrow alleys in Beijing): 114 in total 75 of them can’t take fire engines, 15 can only take tanker-pumpers Neighborhood committees : 11 in total Courtyards : 2950 in total Statistics about Da Zha Lan Investigation of Urban Corners in Beijing Beijing Social Science Institute, July 2005

21. Political Poverty 1.District economic imbalance. To boom the economy, the municipal government put the focus of economic development of Beijing in Chaoyang District, the east part of the city while Da Zha Lan area, locating in South Beijing, got neglected 2.Special policy to limit the height of architecture around Forbidden City. The architecture around Forbidden City can’t be higher than it, which pushes developers away for lack of profits. 3.Due to historical reasons, private properties are not protected and the ownership of housing is not clear and the transaction of properties is not active. All these impede civil capital to come in for amendment.

22. From left to right: Fabulous, How Great is the Mass of the Poor, Barbarian Driver, Beijing Awakening Pictorial ,1909

23. Da Zha Lan (Qing Dynasty) Da Zha Lan (1950) Da Zha Lan (2005)

25. Billbroads set up by developers, showing their redevelopment plan of the commercial part of Da Zha Lan area. Impression image of Da Zha Lan area in the future. The previous residential area will be changed to million-dollar new-style courtyard homes.

26. Meishi Street under demolition.

27. Meishi Street under demolition.

29. Zhang Jinli, a resident in Da Zha Lan area, protested by hanging the banner and couplet written things like “Illegal actions of developers, court and government make it hard for us ordinary people to live, who can give us justice? ”

30. Zhang Jinli and the law reference book he uses.

31. The receipts of the appeal letters that Zhang Jinli sent to some of the top government officials.

32. Zhang Jinli was forced out as the last demolishee of Meishi Street.

33. A New Political Model : People participate in politics not for being mobilized by state but to protect their own interests and rights.Parties are not the main body of politics but the citizens. A building sits on its own island of land in Chongqing Municipality.The homeowner has refused to sell to a developer, who went ahead with construction around the site. New York Times , March 27, 2007

34. www. dazhalan-project .org